s. Neal's presence. After he left the house
Mrs. Neal asked Dorothy when he began doing that. "Oh! He did it
unconsciously; he is around and hears it so much; I am expecting every
day to call him John and probably have. It doesn't mean anything. I'm
almost sorry to say."

She seemed not to care in the least who of the boys was her cavalier,
making it a point rather to keep the whole company entertained and in
the best of spirits though Cornwall was most with her and they were such
good friends as to feel privileged not to weary each other with forced
conversation, taking time to think a little.

She was as vivacious and light of heart as a feathery summer cloud; and,
I was about to say, reminding one of a butterfly; but there was nothing
of the sedate, slow, hovery movement of that beautiful insect. Her's was
an extremely animated, aggressive daintiness. She always seemed to be
hovering near or peeping into a bunch of flowers or carefully selecting
a piece of candy for her dainty little mouth.

Her costumes were filmy creations of silk or other soft fluffy stuffs
that gave forth the iridescence and sheen of a perfect opal; a coal of
unquenchable, oscillating ruby fire in the heart of a milky diamond. She
was a gorgeous little humming bird. So John described her to his mother
and she knew he had not found the girl he wished for his wife.

One Sunday Dorothy and Mr. and Mrs Neal came from church to dine with
them.

After dinner, while the others sat in the cool, darkened library,
Dorothy and John wandered about the yard and garden.

They passed a bed of flowers in full bloom, over which darted and poised
a pair of humming birds. The flowers were not attractive to the eye or
of pleasant odor; but the long corollas held a pungent, honeyed
sweetness that attracted the birds and many insects. Its technical name
was Agave Americana. The seed had been brought from Mexico by the former
owner of the place who, after making a great fortune in mining, had
first settled in Harlan, but moved away, as the place offered very
limited opportunities for spending his income.

When Dorothy passed the flower bed she gathered a handful and held them
to her face with evident relish as they walked through the garden and
found seats on the bench under the arbor.

They had been seated a few minutes when a messenger came from the public
telephone office calling for John to answer a call from Pittsburgh.
Knowing it was urgent, he excused h